Revelation: What Will Heaven Be Like? Part 2

Revelation 21-22:5 

As we close this year and the book of Revelation, God shows us that his story is about a new heaven, a new earth, and lives fully restored with him. That’s why 2026 matters. Beginning January 5, God’s Story in God’s People will take us from Genesis to Revelation to see how God works through real people to accomplish his eternal purposes—and how he’s still writing a new story in us today. 

Revelation 21–22 pulls back the curtain, revealing where everything has been heading all along: a complete renewal in God’s presence. Let’s continue to consider what heaven will be like.  

Our question for today: Who will be in heaven?  

The Alpha and Omega
I often hear people say they can’t wait to get to heaven to see their loved ones. When our mom dies, our first thought is of her reunion with our dad, who died years earlier. When a friend dies, we say things like, “Don’t you know they’re having the time of their life catching up with Joe!?” or “I’m sure Sam was there to meet John at the pearly gates!” I understand the sentiment, but it’s a miss. Sure, we’ll see our loved ones, but the first person we will want to see in heaven is the One who paid the penalty for our sins, providing us with the only way to enter heaven in the first place. 

We will want to behold our Savior, Jesus!

When John saw the vision of heaven, it all began with Jesus.

Revelation 21:5-7
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Jesus is the “Alpha and the Omega,” the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is the A-Z. All things begin and end with him. We were spiritually thirsty and completely unable to quench that thirst. So Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. When we trust in him, we can drink forever from “the spring of the water of life without payment.” He took on the Father’s wrath for sin so we wouldn’t have to. In him, we are conquerors. In him, we have an eternal heritage; he will be our God, and we will be his sons and daughters. 

Jesus will be in heaven! He is the first One we will see. We will praise him, thank him, and worship him throughout eternity. 

Those Whose Names are Written in the Book of Life
The question of who will be in heaven has repeatedly been answered in Revelation through the description of those whose names are written (or not written) in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15). In Revelation 21, we see it again. Speaking of heaven, John says: 

Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Throughout Revelation, we have been given warnings and promises. The warnings are clear: “nothing unclean” will enter heaven. Jesus said earlier in Revelation 21, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). Remember, Revelation is a prophecy about the future: these are the things that will happen. But they don’t have to happen to you—if your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, that is, if you’ve trusted in Jesus alone as the only way to have an eternal relationship with God.

All true believers from all time will spend eternity together in heaven because of Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. There will be an eternal praise party celebrating what Jesus has done for us.

Now… that raises a question. What about loved ones who are not in heaven? Won’t we miss them and be eternally sad? 

While no passage addresses this directly, I believe that loved ones not in heaven will no longer be on our minds or in our thoughts. This may sound harsh to say. How could we ever forget those we love and have shared life with?

First, remember that heaven will be a time when “the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). There will be a revolutionary transformation in our thinking, including how we remember the past.  

Second, heaven will relieve us of all pain, whether physical, emotional, or mental. God will be with us as our God, and “he will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). We won’t experience loss in eternity. In God’s presence, our minds will be free of anything that could cause sadness or regret. 

One more thing… we have said that to be in heaven, one’s name must be written in the Lamb’s book of life. This means that, at some point in our lives, we trusted in Jesus as the only way to be reconciled with the living God. So, what about babies or others who do not have the capacity to trust in Jesus during their lifetimes?

Will Babies Be in Heaven?
I believe that infants and children who die before they can trust in Jesus or are unable to make that decision for themselves will be in heaven by God’s grace and through the work of his Son. When King David’s newborn son died, he had the confidence that he would see his child again. David said, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23). 

Theologian R. C. Sproul explains that infants who die “are given a special dispensation of the grace of God.” Sproul writes, 

…It is not by their innocence but by God’s grace that they are received into heaven. We come into this world with a sin nature, and so the baby that dies, dies as a sinful child. And when that child is received in heaven, he is received by grace.[1] 

This would apply to all who are unable to make a personal decision to trust Jesus. Thank God for his special dispensation of grace to all of us. Our grandson, J, went to be with Jesus at seven hours old. We look forward to seeing him again…all because of Jesus. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Revelation 21:1-22:5. Focus on the splendor of heaven.

Talking to God: How does the promise that God will remove all pain and loss help you trust him with unanswered questions today?

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